Aftermath
by An Ordinary Riceball
Summary: It was even more startling to see that it was Ed upon opening the door. Of course, Riza didn't think too much of it right away, except that it was after midnight and that he should be in bed. It was then that she noticed the blank look in the boy's eyes. Something wasn't right. Aftermath of rape. RoyAi. Very protective Alphonse, Roy and Ling. EdLing. Probable self-harm. Mute!Edward
1. Prologue

**Story: Aftermath, Prologue.**  
**Summary: It was even more startling to see that it was Ed upon opening the door. Of course, she didn't think too much of it right away, except that it was after midnight and that he should be in bed. But he doesn't talk. This story deals with topics of rape and more importantly the after math of it, the feelings of guilt that come along with it and opening up to those around you. This will probably be eventual RoyAi and LingEd/EdLing if there is a pairing. Mute!Ed for a while. (This story is kind of written based on personal experiences, so be mindful of that.)  
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA.**

**So I want feedback about EdLing, I kind of do want to make that a thing in this, but I'm wondering if Ed and Ling should already be together in this for story sake or should I just hook them up eventually? I'm up for either, because EdLing, naturally isn't the main point of this story. The main point is getting Ed the help he needs from those who care. **

* * *

It was one of those nights that Riza couldn't sleep. Not that she didn't try. Oh, she did. She had lied down for _hours_ on that cursed bed just trying to relax, but the memories, the memories of Ishval, kept her awake and fully aware.

Sometimes, she could tolerate them, but other times, it was... like _this, _just tossing and turning in bed.

To be honest, she was a bit startled when she heard a knock on the door to her house(which caused Black Hayate to start barking), given that it had to be at least one in the morning.

It was even more startling to see that it was Ed upon opening the door. Of course, she didn't think too much of it right away, except that it was after midnight and that he should be in bed.

"Oh, hello, Edward, what are you doing out so late?" Riza asked, Black Hayate at her side.

No response. It was then that she noticed the blank look in the boy's eyes. Something wasn't right.

"Where is your brother?" she questioned.

However, there was still no response, and she found her worry growing for the boy. She gave a small smile. "Why don't you come in and have a seat at the table? I'll make some tea, and then we can talk."

Judging by his body language, she almost expected him not to follow, but he entered after a moment and did as asked. If she had watched him sit down, she would have noticed him flinch, but she had already walked over to start making the tea.

"I hear you've been getting yourself into a lot of trouble lately, mister. The Colonel's been telling me all about it." Riza said from in front of the counter.

"..."

"Of course, you never _have_ been one to hold back… That's just how you brothers are..."

"..."

"Not that that's always that's a bad thing." Riza smiled softly. "This country _needs_ more outspoken people like yourselves sometimes."

"..."

"So did something happen... between you and Alphonse, Edward...?"

"..."

Over the course of the next twenty minutes, Riza tried her best to get him to engage in small talk or at least answer some of her questions, but never once did he talk. A few times, however, it looked like he had wanted to, but in the end, no sound came from his mouth.

Finally, at some point, she decided she needed to call Roy, seeing as he was Ed's commanding officer, and because this might be a lot more serious than it seemed. For Ed to come to her house this late at night and to not be uttering a word… something seriously bad must have happened.

Trying her best not to imagine what trauma Ed could have gone through to be acting like he was, she waited for Roy to pick up his phone. Finally, he did:

"_Hello?" _His voice was groggy, he'd clearly just woke up.

"Colonel, it's me… I..."

"_Hawkeye? It's really late."_

"I know, and I'm very sorry, sir, but it's about Edward..."

"_Fullmetal? Did something happen?"_ All sleep had drained from his voice and he was on high alert.

"...I'm not exactly sure, but he's acting very strange." Riza said.

"_Strange?"_ Roy probed.

"He's not speaking… But perhaps it would be better for you to see him for yourself."

"_Alright… I'll be over there in about twenty minutes. Thank you for calling me..." _

After that, Roy hung up.

...

**_End of Prologue_**

**_I went ahead and posted this because I don't know when I will be able to write more on it._**


	2. Chapter 1

_**Story: Aftermath, Chapter 1**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA**_

_**Edward has a major distrust towards males in general at first in this story, so he's not going to be that friendly or welcoming towards Roy right away. For that, I apologize in advance.**_

_**Also: **_**It's been a while, but my main computer is messed up right now and I'm currently making an FMA game, not to mention I'm really sick right now and am dealing with work and school, so I've not had much time to write anything, I hope y'all will forgive me. :D**

**By the way, I know that those around victims don't always suspect it right away, but I have reasons for what I'm doing, as I'm trying to consider the characters themselves and what they would do in that situation.**

**Also, thanks for all the favs/follows! :D**

**Replies to reviews:**

**Secret Companion on Prologue:**

**I think it's your story so you should decide what happens with Ling and Ed but I think a relationship would be nice as Ed eventually gets the help he needs. It's a great start though, and I'm excited to see where you take it.**

_**I do definitely think I'm gonna go the relationship route with them even if it might be a bit before I get there. And I hope you continue to enjoy it! :D**_

**Guest on Prologue:**

**Great start! Excited to see what happens next!**

_**Thank you! I hope you follow me to the end! :D**_

_**...**_

Roy took as long as he said he would to arrive with a good five minutes to spare.

"Where is he?" He asked immediately upon being let in. Even though his voice was steady, Riza could tell he was worried.

"He's in the living room..." Riza said in a low voice as she closed the door, before leading him into to where Ed was.

"Edward, the Colonel is here to see you." She asked as she cautiously approached the boy.

However, Edward gave a completely different reaction than she had wanted to recieve. Expressing the most emotion she'd seen from him all night, his golden eyes grew wide, flashing towards the man in fear and obvious distrust.

He jumped off the couch, backing up and glaring at him.

Roy and Riza met eyes for a moment, before Riza once again approached him, slower this time.

"Relax, Edward, he's not going to hurt you, okay?" Riza said soothingly.

Edward briefly glanced at her, the expression on his face wavering before morphing into a mixture of apprehension and confliction. And after a moment, he seemed to have relaxed ever so slightly at hearing her reassurance, even though he still looked suspicious.

"Hey, kid, how's it going?" Roy raised a hand to lighten the mood. He gave one of his rare light-hearted smiles, but inside he was seething. He didn't know who had done this to him, or what exactly they had done, but he wanted to make them pay. And although he hadn't even been in there for a minute and couldn't be certain about it, he already had a suspicion. Because he recognized the look in the boy's eyes. He had seen it before in women at the brothel. It was the look of sheer trauma after being exploited non-consensually.

But Ed was just a kid, not even 16 yet, so the thought that he might have been exposed to such a horrible thing at such a young age made the possibility even more disturbing than it normally would be.

Even as Roy moved over to a nearby chair, Edward got into a defensive position as if preparing to transmute his automail arm at any given moment if he had to, intently focused on each and every one of the older man's movements.

"Easy, Ed. Why don't you sit back down...?" Riza slowly placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to get him to relax. At the touch, Edward tensed up and reflexively slapped her hand away, but didn't attempt to put nearly as much distance between her and him as he had with Roy.

Roy didn't take offense to this. Instead, recalling things from similar past experiences, he was already piecing things together in his head. Either it was just Edward's usual distrust and animosity towards Roy causing him to express so much fear, or it was the fact that Riza was female and naturally made him feel a little more at ease. While the first was probably a contributing factor without doubt, Roy had reason to look at the latter. After all, if it was just a matter of trust, wouldn't Edward would have went to Alphonse first? Then again, Edward probably didn't want to get his brother involved if it was what he was thinking. So it was hard to say, but he knew he needed to find out.

Roy could tell that Riza probably had the same suspicions as him at this point, despite how dreadful any of it was to consider. He knew he probably shouldn't bring up the subject right now, but if he waited too long, he might not get the opportunity to ask again. Aside from that, if his suspicions _were_ correct, Edward needed to be brought to a hospital as soon as possible so they could inspect the damage and make sure there was no serious internal bleeding going on.

So, accepting the risks of it upsetting Edward, accepting that he might not even be honest or say anything, he spoke in as soft of a tone as he could manage.

"Fullmetal..." Gaining a glance from Edward, he paused to think of how to ask the question, before deciding he had no choice but to be blunt. "Has anybody touched you in a place that you didn't want them to touch you...?"

Knowing already what he was implying, Riza looked at him incredulously. Roy had only been there for about a minute and already he was interrogating the boy. Of course, it wasn't like she didn't understand his reasoning for asking, but she wished that he'd had allowed Edward to relax a bit before bringing up such a thing.

However, now that the question was asked, she had to turn her focus back to Edward.

His eyes were wide for only but a moment before he turned his head away, as if feeling guilty. His shoulders began shaking, as he reached over with his automail hand, digging into the sleeve of his flesh arm.

With or without words, this was more than enough of an answer for both of them.

Roy's jaw tightened; he wanted to shout. He wanted to hurt the bastard who had done this to Edward; to a _child_. He wanted to make the boy forget everything that had happened that day. He wished he could go back and prevent it. He wanted to say _something_. But looking at the boy now, with his worst suspicions confirmed, he knew if he opened his mouth, he would probably just break down in front of him.

Riza swallowed. More than anything, she wanted to pull the boy into an embrace, but she already knew how he would probably react to that, so, instead, she forced herself to speak. "Hey, you don't have to talk about it right now if you don't want to, you know... but just know this, Ed. We aren't mad at you and whatever happened isn't your fault, so don't you dare blame yourself."

Even though Edward didn't speak or respond, she could tell he heard her.

However, whether or not he actually believed her words was clearly a different matter.

And that fact pained both Riza and Roy.

…

**A/N: I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter enough. Sorry it's not much. ;-;**

**PS: I just finished the first season of 13 Reasons Why not too long ago and I was a literal mess afterwards.**


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